Railway coupler shank

ABSTRACT

A railway coupler assembly is provided with a coupler shank having a bearing block of wear resistant metal which complements the bearing surface of the front follower of the assembly thereby increasing the service life of the coupler.

United States Patent 1 Snell [4 1 .ian.14,1975

[ 4] RAILWAY COUPLER SHANK [75] Inventor: Ford F. Snell, Columbus, Ohio [73] Assignee: Buckeye Steel Castings, Columbus,

Ohio

[22] Filed: Dec. 27, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 318,763

[52] U.S. Cl. 213/62, 213/69 [51] Int. Cl B6lg 9/04 [58] Field of Search 213/8, 43, 62-69 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,936,371 11/1933 Schmidt 213/69 1,952,479 3/1934 Suckow 213/69 1,960,649 5/1934 Ritter 213/69 2,889,939 6/1959 Metzger 213/64 Primary Examiner--Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clelle W. Upchurch [57] ABSTRACT A railway coupler assembly is proyided with a coupler shank having a bearing block of wear resistant metal which complements the bearing surface of the front follower of the assembly thereby increasing the service life of the coupler.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 4W5 RAILWAY COUPLER SHANK This invention relates generally to railway vehicle coupler assemblies and more particularly to an improved coupler shank butt.

Railway couplers for freight service have a coupler body which is an integral casting of a coupler head and a shank. The head of the shank may be an AAR Standard Type E or F Coupler Head fitted with appropriate standard knuckle, lock, thrower, pivot pin and articulated lock assembly. The length of the shank from butt end to the horn line where the shank connects with the coupler head may vary. The Coupler is cast in low alloy steel.

The butt end of the coupler shank is the area where most wear occurs. The spherical surface of the butt bears against the face of the front follower and becomes worn asthe coupler pivots about a pin joining the coupler to the cars draft yoke. When this surface is worn to the point that it must be replaced it is necessary to replace the complete coupler.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved coupler for a railway vehicle. Another object of the invention is to provide a railway coupler assembly with a shank butt which can be easily repaired when the butt becomes worn without replacing the coupler. A still further object ofthe invention is to provide a coupler assembly in which the butt of the coupler shank has improved wear resistance. A more specific object of the invention is to provide a coupler shank which is more resistant to wear and can be repaired at less cost than the prior art coupler shanks.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal section of a coupler and draft yoke assembly illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the novel bearing block provided by the invention.

The foregoing objects and others are accomplished in accordance with this invention, generally speaking, by providing a railway vehicle coupler assembly wherein that surface of the coupler butt which bears against the surface of the front follower as the coupler shank pivots is cast of a more wear resistant metal than the remainder of the coupler shank. More specifically, the invention provides a coupler shank butt with a bearing block of wear resistant metal disposed in a groove in that sur face of the shank butt which engages the face of the front follower disposed adjacent to the front end of a railway vehicles draft gear.

The coupler shank may be one of any standard AAR Type E or Type F coupler. The shank may be an integral part of a cast coupler body. The butt of the shank is provided with a pinhole which is aligned with pinholes in the upper and lower straps of a draft yoke to which the coupler is to be pivotally connected. The surface of the butt facing the front follower is spherical and in complementary engagement with a concave surface on the face of the follower. The shank may be cast of standard low alloy steel but with a vertical groove through the butt at the point where it will engage the concave surface of the follower. The groove as cast is somewhat smaller than desired and is machined to provide backand side walls having a smooth surface and a groove of the desired dimensions. A bearing block of metal which is more wear resistant than the metal used to cast the shank is secured in the groove. Any other suitable method may be used to attach the wear resistant bearing block to the shank. The dimensions of the bearing block are such that it forms a press-fit in the groove and the exposed vertical surface thereof forms a segment of the spherical surface of the butt. The dimensions of the spherical surface of the bearing block and the corresponding dimensions of the concave surface of the front follower should be substantially the same so that two surfaces complement each other and are the only surfaces of the coupler shank and front follower which engage each other.

The bearing block may be cast of any material which is more wear resistant than the metal of the remainder of the shank. Most coupler shanks are cast Standard low alloy steel and any metal which is more wear resistant than a low alloy steel will provide an improvement and is contemplated for the bearing block. Suitable examples of such metals include AAR Standard Grades C and E steel. The front follower is a relatively small casting so it can be replaced in its entirety when worn so there is little advantage in providing a concave surface of more wear resistant metal than that of the remainder of the follower.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shank 10 of a standard Type E or Type F Coupler is pivotally connected by a conventional vertical connector pin 11 disposed in pinhole 12 through shank 10 and in holes 13 and 14 in upper and lower straps 15 and 16, respectively, of conventional draft yoke 17. Conventional integral vertical members 25 and 26 join straps 15 and 16.

Butt 18 of shank 10 has a spherical face which is in engagement with a complementary spherical face of front follower 19 disposed in a conventional draft gear pocket of yoke 17. A vertical groove 20 having machined side and rear walls is provided in butt 18. A bearing block 21 of Hi-Alloy Steel having the same contour as groove 20 is press fit in groove 20. Bearing block 21 may be secured in groove 20 by welding along the top and bottom to avoid separation in service. The width w" of the convex bearing surface of block 21 is substantially equal to the width of the complementary concave surface of follower 19.

In operation, only the surface of bearing block 21 engages the surface of front follower 19 as the butt 18 of shank l0 pivots about pin 11. Hence, all of the wear of butt 10 is confined to the surface of the more wear resistant bearing block 21. If the bearing block 21 becomes worn in service, the welds at top and bottom can be removed, the bearing block knocked out of the groove 20 and replaced with a new one. The remainder of the coupler can thus be continued in service with a new wear resistant surface.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention except as it may be limited by the claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. ln a railway coupler assembly comprising a shank having a butt pivotally connected to a draft yoke having upper and lower straps, a front follower disposed between said straps ancl having a face with a concave surface, said butt having a spherical surface in complementary engagement with said concave surface, the improvement which comprises a groove in said spherical surface and a bearing block secured in said groove, said bearing block having a surface of wear resistant metal which forms a segment of the said spherical surface of the butt and which is that portion thereof in complementary engagement with the concave surface of the follower.

2. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein the said groove and block have matching machined surfaces and the block is press-fit in the groove.

3. The coupler assembly of claim 2 wherein the block and butt are welded top and bottom.

4. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein the said shank is cast; low alloy and the bearing block is cast steel which is more wear resistant than low alloy steel.

5. The coupler assembly of claim 4 wherein thebearing block is AAR Grade C, D or E cast steel.

6. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein said coupler is adapted for repair by removing a worn block and replacing it with a new wear resistant block. 

1. In a railway coupler assembly comprising a shank having a butt pivotally connected to a draft yoke having upper and lower straps, a front follower disposed between said straps and having a face with a concave surface, said butt having a spherical surface in complementary engagement with said concave surface, the improvement which comprises a groove in said spherical surface and a bearing block secured in said groove, said bearing block having a surface of wear resistant metal which forms a segment of the said spherical surface of The butt and which is that portion thereof in complementary engagement with the concave surface of the follower.
 2. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein the said groove and block have matching machined surfaces and the block is press-fit in the groove.
 3. The coupler assembly of claim 2 wherein the block and butt are welded top and bottom.
 4. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein the said shank is cast low alloy and the bearing block is cast steel which is more wear resistant than low alloy steel.
 5. The coupler assembly of claim 4 wherein the bearing block is AAR Grade C, D or E cast steel.
 6. The coupler assembly of claim 1 wherein said coupler is adapted for repair by removing a worn block and replacing it with a new wear resistant block. 